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Kanal 5 Brings Games Into Swedish Living Rooms

MGON and STO-CPH have joined forces to pioneer a new format in TV programming combining competitive online game play with televised reporting. Swedish Kanal 5 is the first station to pick up the show for a fall 2002 run.

MGON (Media and Games Online Network) and STO-CPH (Stockholm-Köpenhamn Production AB) have come together to create an 'eSports' tv format. The show, which is planned to be broadcast once a week, will include all the latest news from world of computer games, and showcase some of the best pc gamers from around Sweden.

The driving force behind the show will be the 24 hour a day / 7 days a week online competition that will be run on the virtual eSports arena over the internet. This is where gamers will have the opportunity to qualify for the television program. The program itself will give the audience a chance to meet these star players and delve deeper into the world of games.

"The quality you see in today's computer games is worth presenting to a television audience," explains Mikael Kinning of STO-CPH. "The industry needs another dimension. We want to give a face to the people behind the machines, the characters and the developers. This is the side of the industry that you don't see very often."

Thomas Isacsson from MGON agrees, "During the last year, the gaming industry has grown tremendously and 'professional gamer' has been accepted as a profession. People playing games full time has become a reality around the world. Taking the step to making eSports a television format feels natural - the interest is already there."

During the last two years, MGON has developed a platform, which makes it easy to create, run and play your own games and tournaments. This platform fulfils a demand by today's gamers.

The show will end its season with a grand televised gala, where the top players will face off on live television.

eSports is a smart choice in entertainment and is here to stay. Kanal 5 of Sweden is the first channel to broadcast the new series, and is finalising the development with MGON and STO-CPH.